Legislature Approves Sweeping Police Accountability Bill

State lawmakers approved a sweeping bill on Monday that seeks to increase police accountability, bolster the ranks of minority officers and build trust between police and the communities they protect.

It also mandates state police to equip troopers with body cameras. While municipal departments would not be required to use the technology, the legislation provides a financial incentive for those that do.

And the legislation stipulates that cases involving police use of deadly force would be assigned to investigators from outside of the officer’s jurisdiction, in an effort to avoid a potential conflict of interest.

Rep. Bruce Morris, a Norwalk Democrat who is one of the measure's chief proponents, urged support for the bill, calling it an important step in addressing the nation's deeply rooted pattern of institutional racism.

"Do what we can today to undo this all too often injustice against primarily black and brown citizens,'' he said. "America is watching."

Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP, applauded lawmakers. "With all the turmoil going on around the country, Connecticut legislators are listening and they're striving to work together to make the state a role model for the nation,'' he said, standing outside the Senate chamber moments after the vote. "Hopefully that police departments hear legislators loud and clear and that they change their ways locally and Connecticut becomes a better."

Daniela Altimari

Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP, talks about his support for police accountability legislation.

Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP, talks about his support for police accountability legislation.

(Daniela Altimari)

The bill cleared the House of Representatives on a vote of 108 to 37; in the Senate, it was unanimous. The measure now heads to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for consideration. The Democratic governor has expressed support for the measure in the past.

"This is, in many ways, one of the most important policy bills that we will have dealt with in 2015,'' Senate President Martin Looney said.

After a budget was passed on the final day of the regular legislative session earlier this month, the General Assembly met again on June 29 and June 30 to finalize budget implementer bills and also tackle criminal justice reforms that were left unfinished.

The bill cleared the Senate during the regular session of the General Assembly but failed to come up for a vote in the House before adjournment at midnight on June 3.

Several aspects of the legislation -- including a provision explicitly stating that citizens have the right to videotape police officers performing their duties -- have been proposed in years past.

But the issues were given added urgency this year, after highly publicized tragedies in Staten Island, N.Y., North Charleston, S.C. and Baltimore that left unarmed black men dead after interactions with police.

"I think we are all aware of some of the reasons why this bill is before us,'' said Sen. Eric Coleman, a Bloomfield Democrat and co-chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee. "There have been a number of incidents that have occurred around the country in recent years.''

Republican lawmakers in the Senate expressed strong support for the bill. Sen. John Kissel, the ranking Republican on the judiciary committee, noted that it does not require body cameras, but gives communities financial support should they chose to purchase them. "It is not a mandate, but rather an opportunity,” he said.

In the House, the bill was met with considerable opposition from Republicans, who expressed reservations about the recruitment requirements. Under the legislation, departments in communities with large minority populations would be required to initiate outreach programs and other initiatives to boost the number of minority police officers.

Rep. Richard Smith, R-New Fairfield, said he was troubled by language in the bill that requires police departments to make an effort to "recruit, retain and promote minority police officers so that the racial and ethnic diversity of [the department] is representative of [the] community."

Said Smith: "When I read the language in this statute, I, for the first time I guess, felt discriminated against as a white man. So I have a small taste of what my minority colleagues have felt probably throughout their lives."

Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, said the legislation does not set quotas for minority hiring but it does seek to bolster the diversity of local police departments, so they more closely resemble the communities they serve.

"Generalized statements and goals of diversity just aren't getting us there,'' said Tong, co-chairman of the judiciary committee. "I think this is an effort to put more meat on the bone."

The bill sets out new training requirements for police in use of force, cultural sensitivity and bias-free policing. And it establishes new protocols in the aftermath of an incident involving police use of lethal force, including a provision that a state's attorney from a different jurisdiction investigate such incidents to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

David McGuire, legislative and policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, also praised the legislation. "In a national landscape that is fraught with tension between communities and police, Connecticut is working to be a national leader in the kinds of accountability measures that will build trust with our law enforcement agencies," he said.